England's Red Roses set sights on home soil World Cup win as they look to emulate the Lionesses effect 

09/07/2024 11:57 AM

There are few national squads in England that have enjoyed the levels of success reached by the Red Roses. 

In the last few years, they have proved exactly why they are the world no.1 side in women's rugby.

Not only have England bagged an impressive six consecutive Women’s Six Nations titles, they also became the inaugural champions of the WXV tournament last year. 

Yet for all their success, there is still one obstacle this team is looking to tackle.

In an illuminating report recently produced from data from the Women's Sports Trust, it was revealed that just 63 per cent of rugby union fans were able to name a single member of the squad. 

Despite the ever-increasing popularity of the team, the report also showed that awareness of the women's team was still down by 15 per cent from awareness of the men's national team. 

But with an innovative new project the Red Roses are looking to change that.

Developed in partnership with O2 and the RFU, they have produced the UK's first ever 'wearable report' – a clothing range designed by full-back Ellie Kildunne which showcases the gender gap that still exists and encourages people to throw their support behind the team. 

It is a project which aims to build upon the progress of the last few years – a level of progress that has seen that gender awareness gap drop from 25 per cent in just one year. 

And England's tighthead prop, Sarah Bern, told talkSPORT that it was important to appreciate the immense improvement in that figure. 

"The one that surprised me was that just 15 per cent less are aware of the women’s game than the men’s, which I thought was a really great start," she explained. "And that’s definitely grown over the last few years. 

"Especially having been injured the last six months and being at the games and people – especially men in a category that haven’t watched women’s games before or typically maybe have a slightly archaic view of it – have said to me, ‘wow, did you watch that game? That game was amazing!’

"I’m like, ‘yeah, I know! I’m like, go and watch it.’ It’s great. So I think it’s really positive to see those steps." 

Not to mention, the Red Roses have one other big weapon up their sleeve when it comes to growing their status even further over the next few months.

The Women's World Cup is taking place in England in 2025 and the squad know they have the chance to achieve something truly great. 

Because, as the last few years has demonstrated extremely well, success in a major tournament on home soil can do magnificent things for a sport.

Before the Lionesses won the European Championship at Wembley back in 2022, few members of the squad would have been regarded as household names, especially when considering the relatively low attention given to the WSL. 

When you look at the state of women's football in England now, it is hard to believe that it has been just two years. 

The Lionesses are national icons, with the likes of Leah Williamson and Alessia Russo now gracing the back of many football shirts – both boys and girls. 

The WSL has exploded, with Arsenal in particular having managed to sell out the Emirates Stadium and putting on a show for fans. 

And a new governing body for the league, NewCo, shows that authorities have recognised that this is a phenomenon that is only going to go in one direction. 

And for John Mitchell’s side, there is a sure belief that a World Cup victory in front of a home crowd in Twickenham next year could set their own team on the very same path. 

"When the Lionesses won, I think it inspired the whole nation," Bern said.  "People really got behind them and there’s so much support out there for them now that probably wasn’t there previously. 

"So I think for us, we have great support, we have a great following, but it’ll be amazing if we can achieve that goal of winning the World Cup and actually gain the same momentum and launch us into that same space that women’s football has grown to. Although in our own right, it’ll hopefully be our own entity and our own game and are slightly different. 

"But hopefully we can still get the fan bases and all the stuff that women’s football has done and achieved recently."

The similarities between women's football and women's rugby are already clear and there is good reason to be optimistic that the latter will follow the former's growth before long. 

The increasing professionalisation of the women's game across different tiers, for example, is something that is likewise beginning to happen in women's rugby. 

For athletes, being able to focus on being an athlete – rather than juggling a career on the side – is immensely valuable when it comes to developing a sport as a whole. 

It is a development that England hooker Lark Atkin-Davies has seen first hand and she told talkSPORT how important it was in inspiring the next generation. 

"For me personally, I was a teacher, so I started off my rugby career juggling teaching full-time with rugby," she explained.  "But now I’m a professional rugby player and I have been for the last five years. 

"And so I think that alone speaks for itself in terms of being able to make a living from it now and be supported in the way that we do. For young girls now, they can aspire to be full time rugby players, which is something that if you’d have told me when I was younger, like I’d have been like it could happen, but will it happen? 

"But now, like having the Red Roses, but also the club game as well becoming professional, that’s obviously really important. As a young girl, you can be like, I’m going to be a rugby player. 

"It’s also really cool that people have dual careers – but at the same time, for myself personally, I've been able to put as much as I can into rugby and performing on the pitch."

For this team, growing their fan base is a huge ambition for the coming months. 

They have shown themselves more than capable of achieving great levels of success – and now, their aim is to share that success with a new generation of Red Roses fans who are certain to be captivated by this team. 

"We pride ourselves a lot on the culture that we’ve built on and off the pitch," Ellie Kildunne told talKSPORT. "And it definitely shows on the pitch as well. 

"We’re a team that if we’re not running through the middle, we’re going through the edge. If it’s neither of those, we’re kicking. And it’s exciting rugby to watch. It is slightly different to how the men’s game might be played because we are different to them. But it doesn’t mean that it’s any less exciting. 

"And people should come to the game with that mindset as well. And I’m sure they’ll be entertained either way."